Loan Approval Engine
Restoring a 150% processing delay through modular architecture, legacy system integration, and ruthless scope rationalization under an 8-month deadline.
Challenge
18 months of stakeholder debt, 30+ fragmented legacy paths, no fixed deadline, and a 150% processing delay affecting SLA compliance.
Solution
Consolidated 30 paths into a 5-stage macro architecture. Led scope rationalization, automated data ingestion, and designed a 6-role state matrix.
Impact
SLA restored in 8 months. 90% of manual input automated. Analysts now process their full 40-application monthly capacity.
The Strategic Architecture
Systems Thinking · Stakeholder Management · Scope NegotiationI joined 18 months into the project to find stakeholder debt and no fixed deadline. When an 8-month window was imposed, I led a Scope Rationalization exercise — facilitating a Priority Matrix workshop and de-scoping 70% of edge-case paths.
Design Decision
I consolidated 30 disparate legacy paths into a single 5-Stage Macro Architecture. This modular approach let the dev team build reusable components and hit the deadline without compromising end-to-end experience.
I architected a State Matrix defining exactly what 6 roles (Business Analyst to Level 4 Risk) see at every stage — ensuring a fail-safe handoff process.
Information Design & Data Logic
Legacy Tech · Cognitive Load · Human Error ReductionThe 150% delay's primary cause was manual data entry. A Data Audit identified automatable fields. I architected a solution fetching data from legacy databases directly — transforming analysts from Data Entry to Data Validation.
Product Rationalization
26 legacy products → 7 core offerings (highest revenue generators only).
Before (26)
Foreign Exchange, Letter of Credit, Traditional Factoring, Confirming, Peso Loan Equal Installments… + 21 more
After (7)
Unrestricted Loan, Peso Loan Equal Installments, Foreign Currency Loan, Corporate Credit Card, Personal Credit Card, Checking Account, Line of Credit
Design Decision
A Universal Form with conditional logic dynamically reshapes fields based on loan type — New, Refinanced, Renovation, or Renegotiation. Analysts only interact with information critical to their selection.
Validation, Hand-off & Impact
Usability Testing · Developer Collaboration · ResultsModerated usability tests ensured the 5-stage flow performed faster, not just looked better. Feedback was categorized as Cosmetic / Minor / Major.
Engineering partnership mapped Internal System Errors, designing “Exit Paths” and custom error states for legacy database timeouts — analysts never lose their work.
// Results
2–3d
Time-to-Decision
SLA compliance restored after 18 months of delays.
90%
Manual Input Reduced
Automated ingestion eliminated 90% of manual fields.
40
Full Capacity
Analysts now process their full 40-application monthly load.
“In Fintech, UX is a balance between User Empathy — reducing analyst stress — and System Logic — managing legacy constraints. I turned a failing 18-month project into a successful 8-month delivery.”